Miami International Airport - Operations - Terminal - North Terminal (Concourse D)

North Terminal (Concourse D)

The North Terminal consists of one concourse, Concourse D, a 3,600,000-square-foot (330,000 m2) linear concourse 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long with a capacity of 30 million passengers annually. It has one bus station and 45 gates: D1-D12, D14-D17, D19-D25, D29-D33 D37-D40, D42-D51, D53, D55, D60. It currently houses departures and domestic arrivals for American Airlines and American Eagle; their respective international arrivals are processed in the Central Terminal at Concourse E because of the lack of customs and immigration facilities in the North Terminal. American operates two Admirals Clubs within the concourse; one located near Gate D30, and another near Gate D15. American Eagle uses Gates D53, D55, and D60.

The North Terminal was previously the site of Concourses A, B, C, and D, each a separate pier. Concourse D was one of the airport's original 1959 concourses, having opened as Concourse 5. After modifications similar to that of former Concourse C during the 1960s, it was completely rebuilt in the 1980s and connected to the immigration and customs hall in Concourse E, allowing it to handle international arrivals. Along with former Concourses B and C, the concourse once housed the Eastern Air Lines base of operations. Two other Texas Air Corporation affiliates joined Eastern during the 1980s: Concourse D was also used by Braniff International Airways for Latin American operations up until their shutdown in 1982, and Continental Airlines used gates on the west side of the concourse during the 1980s.

The North Terminal construction merged the four piers into a single linear concourse designated Concourse D. This configuration was adopted in order to increase the number of aircraft that can simultaneously arrive and depart from the terminal, allowing each gate to handle approximately twice as many operations per day. The construction process started with the extension of the original A and D concourses in the late 1990s. By the mid-2000s (decade), the gates on the east side of Concourse D were closed in order to make room for new gates being constructed as part of the North Terminal Development project. In 2004, a new extension to the west was opened, consisting of Gates D39 through D51. Concourse B was demolished in 2005; in the summer of 2009, Gates D21 to D25 entered service where Concourse B once stood. Concourse C was demolished in 2009. Concourse A was closed in November 2007 and re-opened in July 2010 as a 14-gate eastern extension of Concourse D. In August 2010, a further extension for American Eagle flights was opened.

The Skytrain automated people mover, built by Parsons and Odebrecht with trains from Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, opened to the public on September 15, 2010. Skytrain transports passengers between four stations within Concourse D, located at gates D17, D24, D29 and D46.

The North Terminal construction began in 1998 and was slated for completion in 2005, but was delayed several times due to cost overruns. The project was managed by American Airlines until the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department took over in 2005. With sections of the terminal opening in phases, a significant majority of the structure has already been completed and opened for airline use. The project was designed by Corgan Associates, Anthony C Baker Architects and Planners, Perez & Perez, and Leo A Daly. The project is currently progressing quickly with a brand new international arrivals facillity which opened in August 2012. Additionally, five new baggage carousels and an eight-lane re-check inspection area is to open in early 2013, completing the construction of the North Terminal project.